


The Sheriff's Sister

by NovaMarieStark



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28679649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovaMarieStark/pseuds/NovaMarieStark
Summary: Cindy Grimes is Rick's baby sister. A former Marine in the USMC. She came home on the day her brother got shot. She was part of a secret squad, called the White Wings, that specialized in High-Risk Operations. After the chaos at the hospital and being separated from Shane, she rushes towards her brother's house. Along the way, she stumbled upon a family who needed help and ended up staying with them.(3rd person)(Mostly Follows TV Show)(Slow Burn Daryl Dixon)
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. Characters

(Some are made up or changed to fit the story)

(In this outbreak starts September 2, 2010)

** Cindy Grimes **

Age: 25

** Rick Grimes **

Age: 36

**Lori Grimes**

Age: 35

** Shane Walsh **

Age: 36

** Carl Grimes **

Age: 12

**Daryl Dixon**

Age: 36

Age: 46

** Andrea Harrison **

Age: 36

** Amy Harrison **

Age: 24

**CarolPeletier  
**

Age: 39

**Sophia Peletier**

Age: 12

** Ed  ** **Peletier;**

Age: 46

**Dale Horvath;**

Age: 64

**T-Dog;**

Age: 38

**Jacqui;**

Age: 44


	2. Chapter One - Days Gone Bye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After waking up from a coma hospital, Officer Rick Grimes returns home to find his family gone. He meets Morgan and his son Duane who take him in and tell him about what has happened to the world. During dinner, a surprise guest arrives through the window upstairs.

— 2 months ago —

Her footsteps on the quartz floor were quick and unsteady as she made her way towards the exit. She couldn't help it, she was excited. After two years, she gets to see her family again. Her brother, her nephew and her sister-in-law.

She reached the arrival section of the airport, she quickly scanned the crowd for the familiar faces of her family but found the face of a close friend. Looking at his expression, she immediately knew something was wrong.

She slowly made her way to him "Shane... is he..." she trailed off. She couldn't even imagine something bad happening to her big brother.

Shane shook his head, "He was shot, today. He's in a coma. I'm sorry, Cindy. It's my fault. I should've seen that guy, man. I should've plugged him." Cindy held her hand up and shook her head, "Shane, it's not your fault. He'll be fine. You know Rick, sometimes he can be a stubborn son of a bitch." She laughed, earning a chuckle from Shane too. He picked up her suitcase. "Come on, Lori and Carl are at the hospital." He said heading out the exit with Cindy following close behind.

The car was silent for a while until Shane broke it, "So how's Marine life treating you?" he asked, one hand on the steering wheel and one on his thigh. Cindy looked down, fiddling with her fingers in her lap. "It's okay." Shane notices her change in behavior, "Hey, you okay? Did something happen?"

She laughed and shook her head "Sorry, Shane. I'm afraid that's classified." he rolled his eyes at her response.

**************

— Hospital —

Shane pulls his truck into the hospital car park, into a space. He turned off the engine and got out of his truck. He headed towards the hospital but stopped when he realized there wasn't the thud of a car door behind him. He turned to see Cindy still seated in the truck. When she noticed him heading towards the passenger door, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Shane led Cindy through the halls of the hospital, he stopped outside a door. Room '211' "He's in there." He said quietly, his hands in his pocket, "I'll give you some family time." He walks back towards the waiting room.

"Shane," he stops and turns to look at the girl. "Thank you... for picking me up." he smiles as he turns "No problem, Cinderella." He called over his shoulder.

She rolled her eyes, he knew how much she hated being called that. "Asshole." She muttered, only loud enough for her to hear.

 _'Here goes'_ she thought. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Lori was the first to see her, "Oh my God, you're here." She said coming over to envelope her sister-in-law in a hug. She'd missed this. Being with her family. She came home just in time for her birthday. Tomorrow she turns 25 and the one thing she wanted for her birthday, was to spend it with her family. Over Lori's shoulder, she could see her brother, lying cold and motionless on his bed. His face, like a blank canvas. No color, no emotion, no _life_.

Cindy then looked over to her young nephew as Lori released her from the hug. His tear-stained face glistening under the combined light of the room and the sun peering through the window.

Lori noticed her gaze and looked over to Carl, "He's not long fell asleep, all the crying tired him out." Cindy lets out a watery laugh, "Yeah, I guess it would." Her smile drops as she recalls earlier, "God, as soon as I saw Shane's face, I knew. I mean, to come back from combat to find that he'd been..." she trailed off as tears threatened to fall. Lori rushed over to hug her again. "Shhh, it's okay. Baby, you have no idea how proud he is of you, Carl too. A couple of months ago he had to write an essay about his hero, he was torn between you and Rick," she laughs to herself "Rick told him to write about you because you were his hero too." Cindy looked between Lori and her brother, "He really thinks that?" Lori nods, Cindy laughs "When I was growing up, he was my hero, he still is. The best brother a girl could ask for."

She and Lori continued to talk for about half an hour when suddenly she was attacked by two small arms, hugging her from behind. "Aunty Cindy, you're back!" he cried

"Hey, little man." She says as she turns around, she looks at him and laughs "Ok, maybe I can't call you that anymore." Carl giggles. "When did you grow up?" he just shrugs his shoulders.

"When are you going back?" he asks as he sits down on her lap,

"Actually, I'm gonna stick around a while. Until your daddy gets better at least." She replied, "You really think he's gonna get better." Cindy chuckles and nods "Yes, your dad is strong, resilient. He's not going anywhere."

******************

— Present Day —

A beeping noise filled his ears as he started to wake up. His eyes opened, at first, his vision was blurred but started to adjust. He scanned the room, surveying his surroundings when the face of his best friend and partner, Shane stood at his bedside holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Hey, bud." He started as he leaned closer to Rick. "We're still here... we're still hanging in," he looked down and shook his head "I'm sorry man, I know I say the same crap every time I come in here." He straightened his posture as the door opened.

Cindy walked in with two cups of coffee, Rick smiled at the sight of his baby sister. "Hey," she holds out a cup to Shane. "Any change?" Shane shook his head, "You know sometimes I feel like he can hear me. Maybe I'm going crazy." Shane shook his head again, "No, you're not. I sometimes think that too." He sighed looking back at Rick.

Cindy looked at the bouquet of flowers, "Nice flowers, you pick them out?" Shane looks over to the flowers and laughs "Nah, you know I'm no good at that sentimental crap." Cindy tilts her head in agreement "Uh, Linda and Diane picked these out. They wanted me to bring them down." He touched the flowers gently.

Cindy sat down in a chair beside the bed, "Tell them I said thank you." Shane nods in response.

Rick lies in his bed staring up at the ceiling as he listens to Shane and his sister talk, "That vase... That's something special. 'Fess up, you steal it from your Grandma Jean's house?" he laughs to himself before he continues "I hope you left her that spoon collection." He chuckled again but his laughter soon turned into coughing "Shane?" he called.

_Silence._

He turns his head to the right to look at him but he isn't there. So he turns his head to the left to see an empty chair which his sister once occupied. "Cindy?" he looked around the room again. "Shane? You in the John?" he's met with silence again.

Rick then looks to the vase on his side table. Flowers that were once bright, colorful, beautiful were now dry, brown... dead.

He reaches a hand to the flowers taking a petal between his fingers causing it to crumble and fall to the table below.

He looks to the clock on the wall, to see that the hands aren't moving.

Rick starts blinking rapidly before he starts to climb out of the bed detaching all the wires connected to him. He chucked the covers off of him as he gently hung his legs off the side of the bed. He clutched onto the IV stand to help himself stand only to fall to the floor. "Nurse... help!" he called out, his voice coming out hoarse due to his dry throat. He pulled out the last tube from his arm. "Nurse... help!" he tries again. No one comes.

He uses all the strength he has to get up and shuffle towards the bathroom. He opens the door and looks in the mirror. He looked different, his clean-shaven face was covered by untidy, ragged stubble, his face was pale with bags beneath his eyes.

He turned the tap on as he dipped his head down into the sink to have a drink. After he had enough he walked back into the room towards his bed. He noticed something from the corner of his eye. A pink piece of paper with his name on it 'Rick'. It looked like his sister's handwriting. He hobbled over to the table to pick it up and read it.

' _Dear Rick,_

 _I've missed you so much. I have returned from my tour to find you have been hurt. I came straight here. I know this isn't how you would want me to spend my birthday but tough shit.'_ Rick chuckles at this part, _'Things are different now. I don't know what's going on, but if you wake and you are reading this... I will wait for you at your house. I have no doubt that you will come back and read this, you've always been strong. Go straight to your house and DO NOT stop for anyone._

_Love from your Baby sister'_

The note confused Rick 'DO NOT stop for anyone' he's a cop he's supposed to help people. He folded the note up and put it in his pocket. He turned to the door and walked towards it.

He opened it to find a hospital bed blocking the door, the corridor lights flickering, papers strewn all over the place. He moves the bed away from the door and looked both ways, looking for someone, anyone. He sees no one as he walks down the corridor towards a desk. Reaching it he spots the phone. He picks it up to dial his house only to hear nothing, not even the dialing tone. He searched the desk to look for something useful when he came across a matchbox.

He pulled out a matchstick and continued to walk down the deserted hall. He stopped at a set of double doors, leaning a hand on the doorframe. That's when he saw something horrifying, something he probably never thought he would. A dead nurse who appeared to have been... eaten... torn apart.

He started to breathe heavily as he backed away from the door and headed in the opposite direction only to find more horrific events that had happened there. A line of bullet holes in the wall accompanied by blood spatter and pools of blood on the floor.

Wires dangled from the ceiling and debris and ceiling tiles rested on the floor but the thing that really terrified him was the doors to the cafeteria. Four words that had been painted on the doors 'Don't open, dead inside.' The handles were wrapped in chains with a plank of wood placed between them.

He walked closer to the doors to inspect what the words meant.

The door began to open slightly as some fingers stretched through the crack and started to attempt to get to him. The chains rattled as they growled and moaned and thumped against the door trying to open it.

The hands looked dirty, decayed. The fingernails long and unkempt. Within a second Rick steps away, breathing rapidly as he rushed towards the elevator. He presses the button multiple times to find it's not working either. He found a door that led towards the stairs, he stepped in and when the door shut, he found himself in total darkness. He lit one of the matches he found earlier and carefully made his way down the stairs, holding onto the banister firmly.

He eventually found the exit, he blew out the match and pushed the door open where he is met by a blinding light. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He walked down the few steps to the ground. He stopped at the bottom of them to look at the scene before him.

The ground was laid with rows of dead bodies. Covered by white sheets and secured with rope and just left there. Flies swarmed over every single one of them. He took a closer look to see that most of them were shot in the head.

He couldn't look at it anymore, it was making him feel sick. He climbed a small hill but to him, it felt like a mountain. He gripped the grass to aid him in climbing up. He reached the top only to stop to see more destruction. A street that was familiar to him. Gone and replaced by a deserted junkyard of destroyed helicopters, abandoned tanks and more dead bodies piled in trucks.

He started walking towards his house just as his sister instructed in her note. Every street he walked on was deserted, houses and cars abandoned. About 24 minutes into his journey he found a bike. He walked over to it and picked it up which is when he saw the upper part of a woman's body. He couldn't see the lower part anywhere like it had vanished. Her blonde hair was tousled, dull. Her guts were spattered on the grass, her skin was decaying and torn. She slowly turns to look at him.

He fell backward as she reached out to grab him. Her jaw nipped at him, trying to bite him. He looked into her eyes to see nothing, they were dark, lifeless, blank. She started to crawl towards him. He picked the bike up by the handles, he got onto it to start peddling continuing his journey towards his house.

He eventually came across a familiar street. He braked and swung his leg off the bike, releasing it and letting it crash to the ground below. He staggered up the steps and into the house.

"Cindy," he called. "Lori!" he shouted a little louder as he walked into the kitchen, then to the bedroom. Draws open, clothes scattered all over the place. He searched the whole house, rushing into every room. "Carl!" he called to his son, but he was still answered with silence. "Cindy!" he shouted, he hoped at least she'd be there, her note said she'd be here. He stepped back into the living room and collapsed to his knees, there was no answer. No sign of life. He began to cry, body trembling as he did. His mind was swarming with questions. _'Is this real? Where are they? Is this real? Or am I dreaming? What is happening?'_

"Lori! Cindy! Carl!" he screamed between sobs. He rolled to lie on his side. He looked around the empty house one more time. He examined at the label tied on his wrist. "Is this real? Am I here?" he questioned examining the situation. ' _Surely this isn't real. It can't be._ ' He thought.

He started to hit himself in the forehead with his hand repeatedly. "Wak-Wake up," he told himself. After he calmed down, he got up and walked outside to the porch. He sat down on the steps by the side of the road, looking around the empty street still wondering if this was real or if it was all a dream.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a man walking across the street. He stopped and turned his head to look at Rick. Rick held up his hand and waved at him. The man didn't wave back just started to walk towards him. He was limping slightly. Rick turned around when he heard a twig snap behind him and was met with a shovel in his face.

He fell onto his back from the impact to his face. Blood dripped from his nose, he looked up to see a young boy looking down on him, "Daddy! Daddy!" the boy called "Carl," he murmured as he looked up at him "I found you," he breathed.

"Daddy, I got this son of a bitch! I'mma smack him dead," the young boy called. Rick looked in the direction the boy was looking and saw a man hold up a gun to shoot the man he saw moments before. His body crashed to the floor as the other rushed over to them.

"He say somethin'?" he asked the boy as he pushed him away from Rick. "Thought I heard him say somethin'," he said looking between Rick and the boy.

"He called me Carl," the boy answered as Rick's vision started to become clear. He saw two black men standing before him, one older, about his age and the other, was young, just a little older than Carl.

"Son you know they don't talk..." the older guy said. He then looked to Rick "Hey mister... what's the bandage for?" he asked

"What?" Rick asked him, still dazed from being hit by a shovel. He held up his gun as he asked "What kinda' wound?" his voice was more harsh, firm, "You answer me, damn you," he spoke through gritted teeth. "What's your wound?" he asked again. "You tell me," His grip tightening on his gun getting ready to shoot him. "Or I will kill you," he warned but Rick couldn't hold his head up any longer as he passed out.

***********************

~1 week before the outbreak~

Rick and Shane were sitting in their squad car, munching on a take-out they had picked up for lunch. They were just sitting around talking awaiting a call from dispatch for their assistance.

"What's the difference between men and women?" Rick asked Shane as he offered him a napkin.

"This a joke?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and took the napkin. Rick shook his head at him as he picked up one of his fries to eat.

"No, serious," Rick answered as he continued to eat.

"Never met a woman that knew how to turn off the light," Shane replied as they picked out their food together, picking up fries and eating them. "They're born thinking the switch only goes one way. On," he joked popping one of his fries into his mouth as Rick laughed quietly at his joke.

Shane rests his arm on the car door as he continues, "They're, they're struck blind the second they leave the room, I mean...every woman I ever let have a key... swear to god. It's like... come home, house all lit up... and my job's apparently because...because, my chromosomes happen to be different and I then have to walk through that house, turn off every single light this chick left on," he spoke and as Rick looked at him as he spoke.

"Is that right?" Rick questioned, as he knitted his brows and pursed his lips.

"Yeah baby, mmm," he said and bit his bottom lip. His hand grasping onto the roof of the car and to smirk while he talked. "Oh Reverend Shane is preachin' to ya now, boy," he says and Rick chuckles at him.

"Then this same chick, mind ya, she'll bitch about, uh, 'global warming'. You see, this is, this is where Reverend Shane wants to quote from the Guy Gospel and say, "Um, darlin', maybe if you and every other pair of boobs on this planet could just figure out that the light switch, see, goes both ways, maybe we wouldn't have so much global warming?" he teased some more.

"You say that?" Rick asked him as he raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, the uh, polite version. Still, man, that-that earns me this look of loathing you would not believe and that's when the "Exorcist" voice pops out," he said with a small smirk on his face. 'You sound just like my damn father! Always, always yellin' about the power bill and tellin' me to turn off the damn lights!'" he said in a deep voice.

"And what do you say to that?" Rick asked him curiously, a smirk playing on my lips.

"I know what I want to say. I want to say 'Bitch, you mean to tell me you've been hearing this your entire life and you are still too damn stupid to learn how to turn off a switch?'" he replies and they both burst out laughing. Their shoulders shook as they did.

"You know, I don't actually say that, though," Shane said

"That would be bad," Rick said laughing some more.

"Yeah, I go with the uh, go with the polite version there too." This made Rick chuckle a little and him smile.

Rick nods, "Very wise," he agreed as he looked at Shane, a smile on his face as he held in his laughter.

"Yes, sir. So how's it with Lori, man?" he questioned Rick as the laughter died down and the car became silent.

"She's good. She's good at turning off lights. Really good. I'm the one who sometimes forgets," Rick answered him.

"Not what I meant," Shane sighed

"We didn't have a great night," he answered, recalling the events from the night before.

"Hey look, man, I may have, uh, failed to amuse with my sermon, but I did try. The least you could do is, is speak," Shane recommended.

"That-that's what she always says. 'speak', 'speak'. You'd think I was the most closed mouth son of a bitch you'd ever hear her telling." Rick tells Shane and he just remained quiet for a second.

"Do you express your thoughts? Do you share your feelings and that kind of stuff?" he asked. Rick thought about how hard it had been lately and he didn't think it was fair on Carl. It wasn't like it was when they were younger, things changed.

"The thing is, lately, whenever I try, everything I say makes her impatient like she didn't want to hear it after all. It's like she's pissed at me all the time, and I don't know why," Rick answered, not sure what changed between them.

"Look man, that's just shit couples go through. You know, it's, it's a phase," Shane tells him trying to take the edge off.

"Last thing she said this morning? 'Sometimes I wonder if you even care about us at all.' She said that in front of Carl...our son. Imagine going to school with that in your head. Difference between men and women? I would never say something that cruel to her, and certainly not in front of Carl," Rick stated

"Shit man... have you heard from Cindy?" asked Shane, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, she's coming back today... to see Carl, for her birthday. Her flight gets in at four." Said Rick, smiling as thought about seeing his baby sister after so long. He started to chuckle "Carl was so excited last night, took forever to get him to go to sleep."

"I still can't believe she's 25 tomorrow, man," Shane said, shaking his head.

Rick chuckles, "Me neither. My baby sister is not a baby anymore." Said Rick, Shane nodded in agreement with a chuckle.

"Although I think we found that out when she kicked the shit out of Shaun Weston when he tried to take advantage of her at the prom." Shane laughed, thinking about the time they were called to the high school after a 'fight' had broken out only to find Cindy in the middle of it.

Rick chuckled at the memory, "Yeah, I wasn't expecting to see that. Is it bad that I was proud?" he asked

"Oh no, man. I was proud too." Shane laughed, running his hand through his hair.

The radio began to inform them about a car chase. Requesting backup, they listened in then began to fasten their seatbelts. They wrapped up the food and Shane hung out the window and dunked it in the bin as they drove past. Driving towards the road the fleers were taking and switching on the sirens.

Dispatch continued to inform them of their position as they tried to prevent the car that was being pursued from getting away. Shane shot out of the car as Rick pulls it to a quick stop. Shane retrieved the tire shredder from the trunk of the car and jogging up the road to catch up to Rick. They placed the spikes upon the road and jogged back to the car. Rick reversed the car back to the other cop car, he parked the car on the opposite side that the other car occupied creating a small blockade.

Rick and Shane get out of the car. Shane places his cap on the roof of the car. The four men got into position, hands gripped on their weapons, turning the safety off. Rick's weapon on of choice was a Colt Python, a revolver and Shane had his shotgun.

"Sounds like they're chasing those idiots up and down every back road we got," Lam muttered as they all prepared to end this pursuit.

Then the other guy, Leon, spoke up, "Maybe we'll get them on one of those video shows, you know, like 'World's Craziest Police Chases', what do you think?" he asked as he started to bubble with excitement. Leon wasn't exactly the brightest and he had a tendency to get distracted sometimes even at critical moments.

"What I think, Leon...is that you need to stay focused." Rick reprimanded "Make sure you got a round in the chamber and your safety off," he continued Leon checked his weapon, seeing that he actually didn't have his safety off, he then fixes his mistake.

There was a moment of silence before Shane spoke up "Would be kind of cool to get on one of them shows," he commented as they all waited for the car to come speeding towards them. The distinct sounds of sirens can be heard, alerting the men that the car was on its way. The cars were speeding towards them, zig-zagging across the road and bumping into each other.

The car was being pursued by two cop cars. The car got nearer, when suddenly it's tires popped and deflated and the car skidded sideways causing it to flip over, rolling off the road and into the field beside the road. "Holy shit," Shane breathed as they cautiously began to advance on the car, weapons aimed. The car, now destroyed, was on its roof. The other cops step out of their cars. Guns drawn ready to fire.

A man opened the door, pointing in their direction.

"Gun! Gun! Gun!" a cop alerted them and he took cover. "Put it down! Put the gun down!" Rick ordered but the man ignored him. Instead a firefight started. Bullets racing through the air from multiple locations. Gunshots rang, echoing through the air. Rick was hit by a bullet and he dropped to the ground. He was protected him from getting hurt. "Rick!" Shane yelled, freaked that he just saw his friend fall to the ground in front of him.

Rick rolled around on the floor, keeping his head down, "I'm alright!" he panted, the gunfire ceased, his breath uneven as he struggled to his feet. Shane ran up to him.

"I saw you get tagged, man. That scared the hell out of me." Shane spoke, his breathing almost as fast as Rick's.

"Me, too. That son of a bitch shot me. Can you believe that?" he asked as he started unbuttoning his shirt.

"What? It catch you in your vest?" Shane asked, his eyes scanning for any wounds on his partner.

"Yeah." He replied looking down inspecting how much damage the bullet made to his vest. "Shane, you do not tell Lori that happened... ever." Rick told Shane, he pointed at Shane "You understand?" Suddenly a third man rose up from the grass and aimed in Rick's direction.

Rick crashed back down to the grass as the other cops pelted the third man with bullets. When the man is down, Shane drops to his knees as attempts to stop the bleeding. The flowed from the wound, pooling underneath his once white t-shirt. Had Rick not turned to point at Shane the bullet would have hit his chest instead of under his armpit.

Shane looks over his shoulder and yells, "He's hit! Leon! You get that ambulance down here! You tell them there's an officer down! You do it now!" he repeatedly tells Rick to stay with him, Rick slowly slipping into unconsciousness.

***************

\--Present Day--

Rick comes to, in a room he does not recognize. He looks up to see his hands tied to the bed. He was startled by a sudden voice, "Got that bandage changed out," he said, "It was pretty rank," he told him and he just looked back to his hands. "What was... the wound?" he asked, dipping his hands in a bowl of water, washing them. The young boy stood in the doorway, baseball bat in his hand as if he was anticipating something.

"Gunshot," Rick answered weakly. He remembered the reason why he woke up in the hospital.

"Gunshot? What else? Anything?" the man asked, wiping his forehead with a cloth.

"Gunshot ain't enough?" Rick questioned, his confusion increasing by the second.

"Look, I ask and you answer, it's common courtesy, right?" he pressed, he walked over to the bed and leaned in to look Rick in the eyes as he asked "Did you get bit?" emphasizing each word

"Bit?" he asked, this only added to his confusion. ' _Why would I get bit?'_ he thought to himself.

"Bit," he repeated, telling Rick that he had heard him correctly, "Chewed. Maybe scratched. Anything like that," Rick shook his head lightly.

"No, I got shot," Rick replied as accurately as he could, considering he'd only just woke up, he couldn't be 100% sure what transpired whilst he was asleep. "Just shot as far as I know." Rick was still confused as to what was going on.

The man raised his hand and moves it towards Rick's face. Rick flinches away from his hand, "Hey... just let me," he said, Rick relaxes slightly as the man places his hand on his forehead as if to check his temperature for any sign of the illness.

"Feels cooler now," he noted, as he looked to the boy, "The fever would have killed you by now."

"I don't think I have one," Rick tells him and the man just looks at him with raised eyebrows as he spoke, "Be hard to miss," he reached behind his back and pulled a knife from his pocket. He opened the knife and held it to Rick's cheek. Rick looked at it from the corner of his eye, "Take a moment. Look how sharp it is" he advised

"You try anything I will kill you with it, and don't you think I won't," as he tapped the knife on Rick's cheek. He was silent for a moment, then he moved to cut the rope that restrained Rick to the bed. "Come on out when you're able." He walks towards the door, he looked to his son, "Come on." The boy looked at Rick for a second before leaving the room.

Rick rubs his wrists as he turns onto his side, his whole body trembling, a mixture of fear and being cold. He lay there for a while, gathering his strength to get out of the bed. He sits upright on the edge of the bed, feet hanging off the side. He looked around the small bedroom and notices a towel draped over a chair in the corner of the room. He shuffles across the floor to grab the towel and swung it around his shoulders.

He walked out of the bedroom and made his way towards the conversation taking place in the kitchen. He looked around the living room, "This place... it's Fred and Cindy Drake's.

"Never met them," the man stated simply, pouring the chili out into three bowls.

"I should remember, the same name as my sister." He said, looking down. He hadn't found her at the house, he hoped she was okay. He tried to change the subject, "I've been here," they were good people, kind. He walked around two mattresses that had been placed side by side on the floor. "This is their place," Rick stated.

He looked towards the window. Thick, opaque blankets cover every window, preventing anyone seeing out and no one could see inside. There was a mattress below the window, "It was empty when we got here," he informed, Rick turns to lift the blanket, "Don't do that," the man said quickly, stopping Rick in his tracks as he looks at him, "They'll see the light." He said as though was supposed to understand. Rick had no idea what was going on, his sister's strange note, his family is missing and this man seemed scared of something.

"There's more of them out there than usual," he started, continuing to set the table. "I never should have fired that gun today." Rick continued his trek towards the kitchen, "The sound draws them, now they're all over the street," Rick thought back to earlier, when this man shot another man, with no regret. The boy was sat down at the table ready to consume the meal in front of him. "Stupid using a gun, it all happened so fast," he put out a candle. "I just didn't think," he uttered to himself.

"You shot that man today," Rick spoke wearily

"Man?" the man questioned me baffled by Rick's statement.

"Weren't no man," the boy voiced.

"What the hell was that out of your mouth just now?" the man asked looking at the young boy, as if he was scolding him.

"It wasn't a man," the boy corrected himself. The man nodded to the boy as if to praise him.

"You shot him," Rick repeated, in his Police Officer voice, this man had murdered someone right in front of him, "In the street. Out front. A man." He continued, describing what he did earlier, his face staying serious.

"Friend... you need glasses. It was a walker," the man said as if the word was to supposed to mean something to him.

The man points to the chair beside him, "Come on," he started, "Sit down before you fall down." He said as he passed Rick a plate of food. "Here, eat." He instructed, Rick sat down, tightening the towel around him. He started to scoop up a bit of food when the boy spoke up, "Daddy. Blessing."

"Yeah," the man said, nodding to the boy, he held out his hands either side of him, as did the boy. The boy grabbed his father's hand, holding his hand out for Rick to take. After a few seconds Rick hesitatingly took their hands.

"Father, we thank thee for this food. Thy blessings... we ask you to watch over us in these crazy days," the man spoke, looking at Rick as he did, "Amen,"

"Amen," the young boy repeated, they let go of each other's hand and the man continued to look at Rick as if he were trying to read him.

"Hey mister, do you even know what is going on?" he asked curiously, most of his behavior the man had seen so far suggests he doesn't have a clue. Rick silently chewed on the food the man had prepared.

Rick stopped eating to answer, "I woke up today. In a hospital. Came home, that's all I know,"

"But... you know about the dead people, right?" he asked, looking at him, awaiting his reply.

Rick looked up from his plate to the man on his right, "Yeah, I saw a lot of that. Out on the loading dock, hauling trucks," the man shook his head.

"No. not the ones they put down... the ones they didn't." he started, "The ones they didn't." he pauses, "Like the one I shot today. Cause he would have ripped into you, try to eat you, take him some flesh at least." Rick just looks at him like he is crazy and the man notices his confusion. "But I guess if this is the first you're hearing, I know how it must sound,"

"They're out there now...in the street?" Rick asked, still not totally believing what the man was telling him

"Yeah," he said, fear evident in his voice. "They get more active after dark sometimes," he tells him, Rick looked between the boy and his father, they both had fear in their eyes, "Maybe it's the cool air or...hell. Maybe it's just me firing up that gun today," he speculated, indicating that he didn't entirely understand what was going on. "But we'll be fine long as keep quiet," he reassured, Rick looked behind him, to the window, he wanted to see the "Walkers" for himself. "Probably wander off by morning," he comforted, the boy relaxes a bit.

"Well... listen," he started, "One thing I do know... don't you get bit!" he nodded at his son, "We saw your bandage and that's what we were afraid of," Rick looks at him, ' _What happens if I get bit_ ' he thought, "Bites kill you, the fever burns you out," he advised. Rick couldn't help thinking about Lori and Carl, if they were okay, he knew that if they were with Cindy and Shane they'd be fine but there was no way he could be certain. All he could do right now is hope.

"But then after a while... you come back," that confuses Rick again, ' _Come back?'_ right now Rick wasn't sure what to believe.

"Seen it happen," the boy spoke up. This started to scare Rick, they had actually watched it happen. ' _Don't be stupid! It's the imagination of a young boy!'_ he tried to tell himself.

The man placed his hand on the boy's and gave it a small, comforting squeeze. "Come on," they then continued eating in silence, that was until the boy spoke up, his face filled with worry.

"Wait," startling both Rick and his father, his father looked at him examining his son's face. "What's up son?" he questioned

He pointed to the window, "You said there's a lot of them out there." he told him.

The man nodded at his son "Yes?" he questioned still not understanding his son's behavior "I know son."

The boy tapped his hand on the table, "Hello, how will Cindy get back in? What if she's hurt?" he asked, Rick perked up at the name, ' _Cindy?'_ he knew it wasn't Cindy Drake because the man said he hadn't met them.

The man's eyes widened the size of golf balls, "Shit." He said dropping his spoon in the bowl.

"Cindy?" Rick asked, looking between the two.

"Yeah. We met her weeks ago," the man started, running his hand down his face, "How could I forget?"

"She saved us... tried to save mama but there was nothing she could do." The boy finished, looking down at his plate.

"She stuck around and started doing supply runs for us, I think she was waiting for someone." The man informed.

 _'That could be her, waiting for me.'_ He thought to himself, but he wanted to make sure, "What's her last name?" he asked

"Uhhh..." the man started thinking, trying to remember what it was. "Grimes," the boy announced

The man laughed, "She spends a lot of time with my boy here, they're like best friends."

Rick sighed in relief, his sister was alive, he couldn't help the smile that spread on his face but it soon dropped when he remembered she actually wasn't here, and couldn't get in. "That's my baby sister," Rick stated, "She's out there? Alone?"

The man looked to Rick, "I'm sorry, she knew we were running low on a few supplies. She wouldn't take no for an answer." He explained, Rick tilted his head to the side whilst raising his eyebrows for a second, ' _Yep, that sounds like her.'_

Rick pointed to the boy, "He said she can't get in. If we open the door they will see the light. Am I right?" he asked

The man opens his mouth to speak but closes it, he doesn't know what to tell him so he just nods his head. His sister is out there alone and they can't do anything about it now little did they know she had opened an upstairs window and was currently climbing through it.

They heard a thump on the ceiling above them, they all looked up "Dad. What was that?" the boy whispered.

The man stands up from the table, "I don't know son, you two stay here." Said Morgan grabbing a baseball bat and stands at the bottom of the stairs ready to kill.

Cindy quietly made her way down the stairs as she was about to step off the last step a baseball flew towards her face, but she quickly grabbed the bat to stop it connecting with her face.

"Hello to you too, Morgan." She said sarcastically with a smile.

"Cindy!" Duane whisper shouted as he ran to hug her, colliding with her body with some force, almost knocking her off her feet.

She steadies herself, giving the boy a tight squeeze, she laughed "Jeez, I wasn't gone that long." She said.

The boy looked up at her "But they're everywhere." He said

She nodded her head "Yeah Duane, I know, I was just out there" she pointed towards the door.

Morgan spoke up, "How'd you get in?" he asked, putting the bat down against the wall.

"Nice to see you too, man." She replied as she smirked at him, Morgan and Duane just stare at her, waiting for her to explain how she got in. Morgan wondering if they have a hole in their defenses. "Don't worry little man, I always have a backup plan." She said as she tapped Duane's nose.

Morgan spoke up again, "There's someone here I think you'll be happy to see." He said, Cindy's face scrunches up in confusion, _'someone she'll be happy to see?'_

"Who?" Cindy asked. Morgan pointed behind her as Rick slowly stepped closer towards her.

She turned around and saw him immediately "Oh my God." She said as she collapses on her knees.

They all rushed to her, "Cindy! Oh my god. You ok?" Rick asked kneeling down beside her.

She poked at Rick's face to see if it was really him, or if it was her mind playing tricks on her again "You... you're alive." She muttered in shock.

He chuckled softly and nodded, "Yeah I am. I got your note. I came straight here. I can't believe you waited for me." Said Rick.

"I had to be sure. I couldn't just leave you." She said

"Are Lori and Carl..." he trailed off, Cindy looked down and shrugged, she really didn't know. She hadn't seen them since they were visiting Rick in the hospital.

Rick looked at her face and he didn't like the look it held, "How long have they been gone?" he asked

"I don't know. Me and Shane were in the hospital, I went to get coffee and that's when the army started executing people in the halls, staff, patients, visitors. They uh... thought it was airborne." She explained.

"You must be hungry, there's some chili left," Morgan spoke up, Cindy nodded and stood from the floor, she held her hand out for Rick to take, she walked into the kitchen to put the chili into a bowl.

"You guys, go to sleep. I'll keep watch." She said placing the bowl on the table and taking a seat, Morgan shook his head at the girl. No matter how many times he said it was unnecessary to do everything, she gave without any thought of reward, risking her life for him and his boy. To make sure they are well-fed even picks up something Duane asked for.

Rick, Morgan, and Duane sat down in their beds, Morgan and Duane are near the kitchen and Rick was near the window where Cindy's bed was placed, "Carl, he's your son, right?" Morgan asked Rick.

Rick turned his head to him and nods to him, "He's a little younger than your boy," Rick told him, memorizing every little detail of his young, innocent face. His steel, blue eyes. Pale, small face. Short brown hair. The sound of his voice.

"And, he's with his mother?" Morgan asked him. Rick looked around the room, wondering, hoping that they are alive.

"I hope so," Rick tells him

Cindy looked up from her dinner, "The last time I saw them, they were together," Rick looked to her, "I didn't see Shane on my way out so I assume they are with him." She said, munching the remainder of her food. "Thanks for dinner, M."

Morgan chuckles, "More you than me." Duane started to stir as Cindy went to sit down beside her brother.

"Dad?" he asked, his eyes still closed.

Morgan looked down at his son, "Yeah?" he asked, gently massaging the boy's head.

"Did you ask him?" the boy asked his father.

Morgan chuckles, "Your gunshot... we got a little bet going." He stated pointing between him and his son. "My boy say you're a bank robber," Rick and Cindy laugh softly.

"Yeah... that's me," Rick joked sitting up a little. "Deadly as Dillinger kapow," he laughed, causing Cindy to release a chuckle from beside him, "Sheriff's deputy," he stated, Morgan nods slowly as he muttered 'uh-huh'.

Cindy giggles, causing Morgan and Rick to look at her, "It's nice to know your terrible sense of humor hasn't changed." She laughed, Rick and Morgan laugh along with her.

Then suddenly an alarm went off, a car alarm. Duane sprang up from his sleeping position, eyes wide and a worried expression plastered on his young features because of the sudden blare. "Hey, it's ok... daddy's here," Morgan said as he embraced him, trying to ease his mind. "It's nothing. One of them must've bumped a car," he said, more to Rick than his son.

"You sure?" Rick asked. The boy still looked frightened but was starting to relax.

"Happened once before," Morgan replied, they stood up from their beds, making their way towards the window, "It went off a few minutes," he reassured, "Get the light, Duane," he told his son, Duane turned down the lights, Cindy got the light closer to her on her journey to the window as the room darkened, "It's the blue one, down the street."

They all peeked through the wooden planks nailed over the windows, "Same one as last time," Cindy added, looking at Morgan.

"I think we're ok," he reassured as they looked at the dead walking around on the street outside. Hobbling forms, feet dragging. Walking around aimlessly. No ambition, no emotion. No life. Feeling nothing but hunger. Not like before. Full of life, full of dreams but now nothing... just empty shells of who they used to be.

"That noise... won't it bring more of them?" Rick asked Morgan,

"Nothing to do about it now," Morgan said as we all stood there, staring out the window. "Just have to wait 'em out till morning," he tells us

"I could try and make a run for it," Cindy suggested

"No!" said Rick making as little eye contact with his sister to show her that it wasn't up for discussion, still looking out the window when they saw a woman turn to face the house.

Cindy's heart sunk when she saw the face of the woman she failed to save, "Oh my God," she looked down at Duane, _he shouldn't have to see this_. But he already did.

Duane gasped, "She's here." His body tensing at the sight of his mom, walking past. She looked directly at them and started her ascent up the porch.

Morgan gently pushed Duane away from the window but he didn't budge, "Don't look, get away from the windows," he told his son, the boy carried on looking, like he was glued to the spot. "I said go! Come on!" Duane ran over to the bed and collapsed on it and began crying. Morgan hurried over to him to quiet him down, "Come on, quiet." He whispered. He picked up a pillow, "Shh, shh. It's ok, here, cry into the pillow." Holding it gently over his face.

Rick walked towards the door to look through the peephole. The door was covered by planks of wood, the same as all the windows. "Can you remember?" Morgan asked Duane as he cuddled him. Rick's eyes gazing out of the peephole to see the woman had reached the door, looking around the porch and then straight at him. When she observed the peephole his breath got caught in his throat. Body shivering as she reached down to the door handle and began to twist it in an attempt to open it.

Rick slowly backed away from the door, legs still shaking as he neared his bed on the floor. His eyes stayed on the twisting door handle. He looked back over to Morgan still holding his son, "Shh. She, uh...she died in the other room. On that bed. Nothin' I can do about it here...that fever, man...her skin gave off heat like a furnace. Should have put her down. I should have put her down. I know that, but...you know what?" he snuffled, looking down at his son then back at Rick. Cindy tuned it out, an overwhelming sense of failure washed over her. She just played with her fingers as Morgan continued, "I just didn't have it in me. She's the mother of my child," he cried, he looked at Cindy and notices her vacant look.

She did this often. Curled up in a ball, staring into space, "It wasn't your fault, you did what you could. You saved me and Duane." Morgan's words drew Rick's attention, snapping his head to look towards his baby sister, "You did your best."

She looked towards Morgan, then at Duane, then back to Morgan, "Well. My best wasn't good enough." It broke Rick seeing his sister like this, broken, vulnerable. She was strong, enthusiastic. He looked at her face and she looked defeated. He knew that his sister blamed herself for the death of Morgan's wife and the mother of the young boy she had befriended.

Morgan looked at her, wearing a serious expression, "You saved my little boy," Cindy looked towards him, right into his eyes, and saw nothing but respect and appreciation, "Cindy, it was chaos out there. You didn't have to help us, but you did. You risked your life to save ours." Morgan looked at his son, and shook his head, "I can never repay you for that."

"You already have," she said softly, smiling lightly at him, "We should get some sleep," she suggested

They all lay down on their beds to get some sleep for the night. Morgan and Cindy fall asleep pretty quickly, Rick, however, struggled to fall asleep. Frightened about the dead lurking about outside. Staring at the door handle the woman tried opening.

***************

— Next Day—

Cindy woke up before everyone else, checking the perimeter, making sure the barricades were still intact. She then walked upstairs, to look out the window. Surveying what was outside. The streets were empty, she couldn't see any walkers apart from the one sat beside the white fence. She sat down beside the window and kept watch. Two hours past before the others woke up, she got up from the chair and made her way back downstairs.

Morgan was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, Duane was playing with his cards and Rick was looking through the peephole again, "It's relatively quiet out there. Just the one walker sat just at the end of the path." She reported, Morgan looked at her and nodded.

Rick looked towards his sister, "Have you been awake all night?" he questioned, backing away from the door walking towards the kitchen to join everyone else at the table.

Cindy shook her head, "About two hours, give or take," she pulled out a chair beside Duane and sat down, looking at the cards, he was playing solitaire, "I did my usual routine of checking the barricades then took watch,"

Morgan let out a small chuckle, "She'd stay there all day sometimes." He said as he placed four plates on the table,

Cindy looks up from the cards, "Can't be too careful nowadays," she stated as they started to eat breakfast, she looked to Rick, "We should go round yours, get some clothes for you."

Rick nodded, "Yeah. Good idea." He agreed as he continued eating. Morgan handed Rick some clothes to wear, he thanked him and went into the other room to change into them.

Meanwhile, Cindy and Morgan were taking down the planks from the door, leaning them against the wall beside the door. Rick walked back into the lounge, Morgan handed him a protective mask, kind of like the one you'd wear if you were performing an autopsy, which is exactly what Rick thought when it was handed to him, he looked to Cindy, "Ironic, given the circumstances. Don't you think?" she then held out a baseball bat for him to take, which he did, "Just the one out there."

Rick opened the door followed by Cindy, Morgan then Duane. They descended down the steps of the porch, "You sure they're dead?" Rick asked looking back at Morgan and Cindy, they didn't respond, "I have to ask, at least one more time," he explained, Cindy understood her brother's uncertainty, he was a police officer, his job was to protect people, not hurt them. But these weren't people, they're dead. She imagined his view would be different if he'd been around when it all started. If he had witnessed the panic, the chaos. The massacre of innocent, defenseless people. It was a bloodbath, in a way she was glad he got shot.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Morgan spoke up, "They're dead," he told him, Rick then proceeded down the steps, Cindy and Morgan close behind in case something happened, "Except for something in the brain." He tells him.

Cindy pointed towards the sitting figure at the end of the path, leaning against the white picket fence, "That's why it's got to be the head." She assessed, the sitting walker started to stand up, snarling at Rick as he did, he shuffled towards him only to receive a sharp smash to the head with the bat, he dropped to the floor but Rick kept beating him, repeatedly striking him with the wooden weapon. His body weakening from the sudden burst of exercise as he dropped to his knees, holding his side.

Morgan and Cindy stepped forward to check on him, "You alright?" Morgan asked him, worried by his sudden plunge to the ground. Rick slowly recovered, taking a moment to regain his breath.

"Need a moment," he replied. Morgan and Cindy stood by to help him if he needed it. He got back on his feet and headed next door, towards his house. Cindy and Morgan were temporarily stunned by his sudden movement, Morgan looked at Cindy. She shrugged and followed her brother. He went up the steps and opened the door, entering his former home. Rick drops the helmet just inside the front door, "They're alive... my wife and son." He voices, as he walked into the dining room.

Cindy nodded in agreement, "Well, they were when they left." She looked around then decided to go to the spare room, also known as her room as Rick explained to Morgan why he believed his wife and son to be alive. She scanned the room, she saw a bag of her clothes that she assumed Lori had packed for her, she looked slightly to the right and noticed a piece of paper on her bedside table. She walked over to pick it up.

_Cindy,_

_Shane told us about what happened at the hospital. I'm sorry but we have to go, it's not safe. Not for Carl. We're heading to Atlanta, we'll see you there. Watch your back, Cindy, just please be safe._

_xoxo Lori_

She folded the note and walked back into the dining room to hear Duane speak up, "They're in Atlanta, I'll bet,"

"That's right," Morgan agreed, looking at his son over his shoulder then looked to Rick.

"Why there?" Rick asked, wondering why they would go to Atlanta. They've only been there a few times.

As if reading his mind Morgan spoke up to explain why they went to Atlanta, "Refugee center, huge one they said before the broadcast stopped," he told him, they stopped a while ago, not long after Cindy met Morgan and his family, "Military protection, food, shelter."

Cindy chimed in, "They told people to go there." She held up the note in her hand, "Lori left me a note, even started packing a bag for me. They headed for Atlanta."

Morgan nodded, "Said it'd be safest." He explained, Rick looked at Cindy, thinking about the note. It gave him hope that Lori and Carl are alive.

Duane spoke up, "Plus they got that disease place,"

"Centre for Disease Control," Morgan confirmed, making Rick wonder if they were still running, "Said they were working on how to solve this thing," he told Rick.

Rick walked into the kitchen to a small cabinet, where his keys lived, he grabbed the keys for the police station, whilst Cindy packed a bag of clean clothes for him. Rick held his hand out to take the bag but Cindy shook her head, "Don't worry, Rick. I got it," They got into Morgan's truck and went on their way. Rick gave Morgan directions to the police station, passing few walkers on the way.

When they arrived, they saw two walkers, Cindy picked up the bat and got out the truck, "I got them," she said before walking over them and bashing their heads in, she then looked back at Morgan and Rick, "You ladies gonna sit there all day?" she laughed, balancing the bat on her shoulders behind her neck.

They laughed and shook their heads as they got out of the truck. Cindy went to give Morgan the bat back, but he just shook his head, "It's yours now, consider it a late birthday present." He chuckled.

They walked through the station, Cindy took down a few more walkers, whilst Rick and Morgan secured the doors and windows. Rick walked into a room followed by Morgan and Duane. Cindy entered soon after, making sure the coast was clear.

"Gas lines gave been down for maybe a month," Morgan said as they neared the showers.

Cindy turned on the tap, "Station has got its own propane system," she told them,

Rick holds his hand under the water and laughs, "I was gonna say that," he said, amusement written on his face, he felt the water warming up, "Pilot's still on," he informed

"You guys can have your shower first." Said Cindy as she began to walk out.

Morgan looked up at her, "You sure?" he asked.

She rested her bat on her right shoulder and nodded, "Yeah. Someone's gotta keep watch, haven't they?" she asked

"Oh my Lord," Morgan howled as he bathed in the warm water. "Hot water!" Duane whooped as he danced around under the sprinkling water, both enjoying a luxury they had formally taken for granted.

"That feels good, right?" Morgan asked the boy, noisily relishing the feel of the warm water against their bare skin, whereas Rick showered quietly, shaving the facial hair that had grown whilst he'd been in a coma. Rick chuckled at the pair who were obviously satisfied with the hot water.

They wrapped towels around their bodies and ready to head to the changing rooms, "Your turn Cindy" Rick called

She opened the door and walked in, "You guys sure were loud enough. Thought I'd have to face a battalion." She joked walking towards the showers.

Rick and Morgan sat on benches in the changing room as Cindy walked past, she stripped herself of her bloodstained clothes and stepped on the cool ceramic tiles, toes flinching as she did. She turned the chrome valve. She closed her eyes as the lukewarm water dampens her long, brown hair, droplets rolling down her back. The feeling of the warm water soothes her, temporarily taking her mind off of the end of the world.

In the other room, Rick and Morgan are talking as Duane is getting changed into clothes that Rick gave him, "Atlanta sounds like a good deal... safer anyway," Rick said to Morgan in a hushed voice, "People," he said as Morgan put a shirt over his head.

"That's where we were heading," Morgan said as he slid his arms through the shirt, "Things got crazy. Man, you wouldn't believe the panic," he said as he shook his head, "The streets weren't fit to be on, and then... well... my wife couldn't travel," he said, his eyes slowly becoming withdrawn as he spoke about his wife, he was obviously still grieving her loss. "We were attacked by three of them," he began, he looked towards the door to the shower where Cindy was, "I couldn't protect them both... then my wife... got bit... that's when your sister came."

****************

—Flashback—

Morgan was packing a bag of survival gear, food, water, med supplies, all the essentials. His wife, on the other hand, was packing photo albums, "Baby, what are you doing?" he asked her walking into the lounge.

She opened the album she was holding and looked at the photos, "What does it look like? These are irreplaceable, sweetheart." She replied, putting the album in the bag with the rest of them, "Where's Duane?" she asked.

Morgan pointed to the ceiling, "He's packing his clothes," he replied putting his bag down next to the door, peeking out the window, "We're going to have to leave soon, it'll be dark in an hour."

She nodded in agreement and zipped up the bag, "Just waiting on Duane." Just as the sentence left her mouth, screams roared through the neighborhood, causing both adults to look towards the window.

Morgan handed Jenny a crowbar, "Get Duane, we are leaving, _now_!" he instructed as he picked up his gun, his wife nodded and jogged upstairs. A few minutes later she came back down with their son, "There's a lot out there, we make a run for a truck, you don't stop for nothing." He ordered, he handed his son a baseball bat and opened the door. They walked out, weapons in hand, cautiously making their way to the truck.

Morgan was in front, ready to take out anything that threatened his family, his son in the middle and his wife close behind. None of them saw the walker sneaking up towards Jenny until it was too late. Everything happened so fast. Jenny lay flat on her back as the male walker hovered above her. She was screaming. Screams of fear, panic, desperation but Morgan and Duane were cut off from her, trapped by three walkers. She used all her strength to keep the walker away from her until her arms gave way. The walker dropped, biting her collarbone, her screams were now ones of pain as the walker tore her skin from her body.

The walker went for something more succulent when he suddenly dropped dead, deader than before. The woman looked up past the walker's head and saw a young woman standing there, holding a small knife that was coated with blood, she put her index finger to her lips, signaling the woman to be quiet as she snuck up behind the, now two walkers, attacking her family. With a quick stab to the head, they both dropped to the ground.

The boy held his father tighter as he looked up at the person who saved their life, "Get him in the truck. I'll get your wife," she instructed. Morgan put Duane in the truck then hurried over to help the girl with his wife. They got her into the truck and closed the door. The girl nodded and turned to walk away.

"Wait," the man called, the girl turned to look at him, "You alone?" he asked her.

She nodded, "I got separated from my friend." She looked around, people rushing, panicking. Trying to escape whatever this was. "You should go, something tells me it's going to get a hell of a lot worse." She began to walk away again when the man spoke up again.

"We got room for one more," he pointed out, she turned back around, "You're welcome to join us." She looked around at the carnage and then to the man's son. She nodded, agreeing to go with them. The boy reminded her of her nephew and she felt this need to protect him. She jumped in the back with the boy and they began on their way.

"I'm Morgan, by the way," he introduced as he drove out of the street, "This is my wife, Jenny," he pointed to the woman in the passenger seat, "And my son, Duane," he indicated with his head. The boy shyly waved and the woman smiled at the girl.

She waved back at the boy, "I'm Cindy, nice to meet you." She replied,

The boy giggled, "Like the princess?" he asked, causing his mom and dad to laugh along with him.

Cindy nodded, a giggle escaping her lips as well, "Yep, my brother's best friend called me Cinderella all the time,"

"Where's your brother now?" the boy asked. The question upset her, she left him. Alone. In that hospital. Now she doesn't know if he's alive or dead.

But she answered the question anyway, "He's in hospital. He got shot a couple of weeks ago. I've just come from there,"

Half hour the journey towards Atlanta, the woman's pain worsened, "Morgan, I can't... I need to lie down."

Morgan looked at his wife, "Ok, we'll find somewhere to stay for the night," he said

Cindy looked around and recognized the area they were in, "Hey, turn left here, I know a place." She spoke up, Morgan nodded and turned down the street. It was abandoned. No people, no walkers, "Stop here,"

Morgan stopped the truck and looked around, making sure there were no walkers about, "This your place?" he asked

Cindy shook her head, "A friend's. My brother lives around the corner." She replied jumping out the truck.

"Why did we stop here then?" Morgan questioned, confused as to why she didn't direct them to her brother's house,

She pointed to the house, "My brother's house is single floor. I can keep watch better from a higher floor," she informed, Morgan nodded as he helped his wife and son out the car. Cindy grabbed some bags and carried them into the house, she placed them just in the door and went back out to help Morgan carry his wife into the house, she led them into a room and placed her on the bed, "Will you guys be okay whilst go check my brother's house?" she asked,

Morgan nodded, looking down at his wife, he placed the back of his hand on her forehead, "She really warm," Morgan followed Cindy into the kitchen, she opened a drawer and pulled out a cloth. She held in under the tap to dampen it, she handed it to Morgan, "Thank you. Be back before dark." She nodded and walked out the door.

She carefully made her way towards her brother's house, knife in hand, ready to eliminate any threat that came her way. She made it to the house without bumping into any walkers. Taking a deep breath, she began to walk up the steps. She opened the door and looked around. It was empty. Her sister-in-law and nephew were gone. Drawers were open, clothes were missing. She hoped that they were with Shane and that they were safe, she took some clothes from the drawers in her room, it looked like they took some clothes for her, in case she caught up with them. She took one last look around the house then walked out.

She returned to the Drake house within minutes to find boards on the windows, entering the house she saw that they had set up mattresses on the floor of the lounge, "You should have waited, I could've helped," Morgan looked up and smiled at the young woman, "How's she doing?"

Morgan looked around, presumably to see if his son was in earshot, "I don't know... she's getting warmer. The fever, it's getting worse. The... uh... the broadcasts said not to get bit. I don't know how long until..."

"Morgan, I'm so sorry," she started but Morgan shook his head, "It's not your fault. If it wasn't for you, me and Duane would be in the same situation."

Just then Duane ran in, "There's something wrong with mama, she's not breathing." Morgan and Cindy immediately ran out of the room towards the bedroom. Cindy held up her hand towards Duane and Morgan, signaling them to wait as she stepped closer towards the bed. She looked to see if Jenny's chest was rising and falling but saw no movement. She then leaned her head close to her mouth to listen for breathing sounds or feel breath on her cheek.

After finding no signs of breathing, she decided to check her for a pulse. She picked up her wrist and placed two fingers above her radial artery. Waiting for the small beats but felt nothing. She looked up at Duane and Morgan in the doorway and shook her head.

Duane broke down into tears, collapsing on the floor with his head in his knees. Morgan knelt down to his level and embraced him, Cindy walked out to the kitchen to give them privacy.

Cindy set everything up to start preparing dinner. The meal was almost ready when Duane and Morgan walked in, "What you cooking?" Morgan questioned

She looked up at him to answer, "Beef ravioli, I hope that's okay." she said softly.

Duane smiled slightly, "Ravioli's my favorite," he told her, as he went to sit down at the table.

Morgan walked over to her, a wounded look on his face, "I hate to ask, you've done so much already but... could you help? With Jenny?" he asked, Cindy nodded in response, turning off the camp stove and pouring the ravioli into three bowls. She walked towards the bedroom, "You start eating, Duane. We've just got to sort your mama out." He said as he walked out, through the door Cindy had just gone through.

In the bedroom, Cindy is stood staring at the woman who lay there, lifeless, she began to wonder whether it was her fault. _I wasn't fast enough. If I had got there sooner I could have saved her._ A voice interrupted her thoughts, "It's not your fault, you know?" she looked up to see Morgan leaning on the doorframe, "You didn't have to help us but you did and for that, I'm eternally grateful."

"What do you want to do? They say it's got to be the head for them to..." she began but Morgan cut her off, shaking his head, "No, I can't, and I can't ask you to either."

"Morgan, you've got Duane to think about now. If she turns..." she said, trying to reason with him even though she knew there was no use.

He shook his head again, tears filling his eyes, "We could just set her free, outside. We don't have to hurt her," he persuaded

"And if she hurts an innocent person? Another family?" Cindy questioned making sure he knew the probable risks for letting her turn.

"Please," he begged, his voice breaking, cheeks wet from the stray tears that had fallen from his eyes. Cindy reluctantly agreed to place Jenny outside to set her free. They picked her up and carried her to the back door. Morgan opened the door and they exited. They laid her down on the floor just outside the back yard, "Thank you." Cindy just nodded, "Come on, we should get in before it gets darker," he proposed, she nodded her head in agreement and they walk back inside.

*************

—Present Day—

"And then, after she died...we just stayed hunkered down," he told Rick, the look of regret evident on his face, "I guess we just froze in place and Cindy... after she found your wife and son gone," he shook his head and looked up at Rick, "I don't know, man. I think she was looking for a reason to live, then she got close with Duane." He paused looking at the door Duane had walked out of, "She started doing supply runs for us. Doing whatever she had to, to protect us. I can never repay her for what she's done for us,"

There was a moment of silence before Rick spoke up, "Plan to move on?" he asked him,

Morgan gave a small smile, "Haven't worked up to it yet," he replied, Rick gave him a sympathetic nod. Secretly Rick hoped he'd come with him and Cindy.

"You must be very proud of your sister," Morgan commented as they continued changing,

This made Rick smile and nod, "Yeah, always have been. Even more so when she enlisted" he said, his voice full of pride.

Morgan gave him a questioning look mixed with a hint of shock, "She's a soldier?" he asked, Morgan mentally slapped himself, _Of course, makes sense now_.

Rick laughed at newly found friend's face, "A marine to be more specific but yeah, she never told you?" he asked in amusement, Morgan shook his head in response, "She finished her tour the day I got shot. She was coming home for her birthday," he started, a small smile made it's way on his face, "My son was excited to see her. So was I and the idiot I am I go and get shot." He finished.

"How long had it been since you'd seen her?" Morgan asked

Rick thought about it for a moment before answering, "About 2 years." Rick replied, he smiled like a kid on Christmas morning, "I've got her now, that's all that matters."

Morgan shook his head in disbelief, "I know I should have seen it but why wouldn't she tell us?"

Rick raised his eyebrows at the man to his left, "The KA-BAR didn't give it away?" Rick questioned, completely intrigued by the fact he didn't notice her knife.

"I noticed the knife, she said she found it lying on the floor," he explained, earning a short reply of 'Ah' and a nod in understanding.

Cindy then walked back in, fully dressed, "Ready to go?" she asked

They nodded and Morgan spoke up, "How come you never mentioned you were a marine?" he asked curiously

Cindy gave a small shrug, "Doesn't matter now does it?" she replied shortly as she picked up her's and her brother's bags and walked out with the men close behind.

Rick caught up to her and signaled for her to follow. He led them to the armory, "A lot of it's gone missing," he observed as he picked up a shotgun and examined it.

"Hardly surprising," Cindy commented, as she picked up a pistol. Checking it over just like her brother had done.

"Dad, can I learn to shoot? I'm old enough," Duane asked his father, moving closer to him as his dad was packing some guns for himself.

"Hell yes, you're going to learn. We gotta do it carefully, teach you to respect the weapon," Morgan told his son, making sure he knew it wasn't a game.

"That's right. It's not a toy. You pull the trigger, you have to mean it. Always remember that Duane," Rick told Duane as if he was talking to a rookie cop. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Yes, sir," the boy replied

"Here," Morgan told Duane, "Go look," ushering him towards the bag he had been preparing. Duane starts packing some ammo into the bag.

"Take that one. Nothing fancy. Scope's accurate," Rick reported as he gave sniper rifle. The armory fell silent as they continued to pack up the weapons. After the cage was completely cleared out they headed outside to the truck. "Conserve your ammo. Goes faster than you think." Rick started as they walked up the stairs.

"Especially during target practice," Cindy added, earning a smirk from her brother and a laugh from Morgan.

The siblings look at the man as he laughed, "That's cute, finishing each other's sentences." Duane then started laughing at his father's observation.

"Duane," Morgan called once he caught his breath, receiving a small, breathless 'yeah' in return. "Take this to the car," he directed as he passed the boy the bag of guns and ammo.

"You sure you won't come along?" Rick asked, needing to be sure before he left them. He felt guilty leaving them alone, as did Cindy.

"A few more days." He replied, "By the end, Duane will know how to shoot and I won't be so rusty," he explained, stroking his face anxiously. Rick opened the door to his cop car and pulled out a walkie-talkie, he turned it on to check it was working.

He then handed the small device to Morgan, "You got one battery. I'll turn mine on. A few minutes every day at dawn. You get up there, that's how you find us," he said, arranging a plan to stay in contact.

He patted Rick's shoulder, "You think ahead," he stated

"Can't afford not to," Rick spoke wisely, "Not anymore," he finished.

Morgan stopped his trek to his car, "Look, just one thing..." he started as Duane shut trunk of the truck, "They may not seem like much one at a time but in a group, all riled up and hungry. Man, you watch your ass," he warned.

"You too," Rick replied sincerely. Rick believed he was a good man and he wondered if he and his son would be safe on their own. They allowed his sister to stay with them. They were there for her when he couldn't be. He remembered what Morgan had told him in the changing room. That his sister was looking for a reason to live. He hoped that was him. She's all he's got at this moment.

"You're a good man, Rick," Morgan said, holding his hand out for Rick to shake. Rick took it without hesitation, "I hope you find your wife and son," he said with a genuine, kind smile.

"Be seeing you, Duane," Rick said, leaning down to talk to him, he shook, "Take care of your old man,"

Duane gave him a small nod, "Yes, sir," he spoke with a small smile on his face.

Cindy enveloped Duane in a big hug, "Oh, I'm gonna miss you kiddo." She said, trying not to cry, as she released her new best friend.

The boy laughed with tears forming in his eyes "I'm gonna miss you too. My dad's terrible at poker." He joked.

"Hey." Morgan cried, slightly offended at his son's statement.

Cindy giggled as she pulled the man into a hug, "I'm gonna miss you, man. Thank you. For everything you did for me." She spoke honestly.

Morgan scoffed, "Thank me? I should be thanking you. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have had food." He exclaimed, "You put your life at risk to go out and get us food." He finished.

She shrugged, "I owed you. For letting me stay." She replied, smiling at her new friend as he pulled her into another hug. "Be careful. I hope to see you again soon." He spoke honestly. They were about to walk to their cars when Morgan noticed something. The group turned around to see a walker.

Rick's eyes squinted in recognition, a man he previously knew and worked with, "Leon Basset? Didn't think much of him. Careless and dumb, but I can't leave him like this," Rick spoke. Cindy smiled at her brother's words, still the caring man she knew before she left two years ago. It didn't matter if he liked the person or not, he was still respectful towards them. He still wore his uniform. ' _Must have been on duty when he died_ ,' Rick thought.

"You know they'll hear the shot?" Morgan asked, concerned that Rick still didn't fully understand the situation. He held his son closely to his side.

Rick pulled out his gun, "Let's not be here when they show up," he advises as he walks up to the fence that separated the walker from the group.

"Let's go, son," Morgan told Duane as they backed away towards their car. Rick looked at Leon for a second as the walked rattled the fence trying to get at him, Rick aimed it at his head and pulled the trigger. He slowly collapsed to the ground, his grip uncurling as he fell, dead on the floor.

Rick walked back over to his cop car where his sister was waiting for him. She smiled at him sympathetically. He tilted his head towards the car, silently telling her to get in. She nodded in agreement and got into the passenger seat of the car.

Rick got into his seat and turned on the engine, he backed up and drove to the exit. Rick and Morgan beeped their horns as a way to say goodbye as the turned different ways.

*********

Morgan and Duane drove back to the Drake house. Morgan hammered the planks back up on the door whilst Duane put the blankets over the windows. When he was done, Duane sat down on his bed. Morgan picked up a red suitcase, "Read your comic books a while. Daddy'll be upstairs." He said, picking up the sniper on his way out the lounge.

He situated himself in the room upstairs, going through a box of photo albums, looking at the pictures of his wife. Fighting to keep his tears at bay.

He places a photo up on the windowpane, positioning a chair beside the window and placing the gun on the back of the chair. He whistles, getting the attention of the walkers outside. Lining up the shot and he pulled the trigger.

Duane panicked, springing up from his spot on the floor, "Daddy?" he called,

"It's all right Duane, you stay there, son. Don't you come up here," he replied

Duane returns to his spot, his knees pulled up towards his chest, covering his ears with his hands to block out the noise.

"Come on, baby," Morgan says as he continues to shoot the walkers, waiting for one in particular.

She comes into sight and Morgan lines up the shot, tears breaking through, rolling down his face as she stared blankly at him. He drops the gun from its position, "Come on," he told himself, he aimed again, she had turned her attention elsewhere. She began to walk away, he dropped the gun again and broke down into tears

*********

Cindy and Rick rode in silence. They were both thinking about their family if they'd see them again. Cindy's mind also wandered to Morgan and Duane, part of her felt guilty for leaving them behind but the other part wanted to find her nephew.

Rick then turned and began heading back towards his neighborhood. Cindy looked out the window and looked back to her brother, "Uh, Rick?" she asked, her brother looked at her, "Atlanta is the other way." She stated.

Rick nodded, "I know, there's just something I have to do first," he explained, Rick pulled over next to a small park, just down the road from his house. He got out and looked around, Cindy got out of the car too, wondering what her brother was doing. He walked over to what looked like a trail of brown grass. Cindy sat on the hood of the car as she waited for her brother to return.

He followed the trail all the way to where the woman had dragged her body, he slowly crouched down beside her and pulled out his gun, "I'm sorry, Hannah. I'm sorry this happened to you," he said sadly, he raised his gun, aiming it at her head and he shot her. Her arm dropped down to the ground.

He walked back over to the car where his sister sat waiting and dead corpse lay at her feet, "I see you had company," Rick observed.

She looked away from her brother and down at the corpse and shrugged, "Nothing I couldn't handle," she replied.

They got back into the car and continued their journey towards Atlanta, they sat in silence until Rick started talking into the radio, "Will be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond," he spoke. There was no response, Cindy looked at her brother, she could tell he was sad.

"Worth a shot, I guess." She spoke, leaning her arm on the door.

He started talking again, "Hello, hello?" he called out, "Can anybody hear my voice? Anybody out there? Anybody hears me, please respond," he repeated.

"Hello, can you hear my voice? Hello? Hello?" he continued, hoping someone would answer.

********

On the other end of the radio, a group of survivors suddenly hear the crackling voice through the radio, "Hello, can you hear my voice? Hello? Hello?" everyone looked towards it.

A young blonde woman dropped the cluster of branches and rushed towards the radio and crouched down beside it, "Yes, I can hear you. You're coming through. Over." She replied through the radio, but it seemed he didn't hear her.

"Can anybody hear my voice?" the voice repeated as if he was the only one speaking, "Anybody who reads, please respond. Broadcasting on the emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond." He continued.

The girl quickly responded to the voice, "We're just outside the city." The voice stopped coming through and all that could be heard was static, "Damn it. Hello? Hello?" she tried again, "He couldn't hear me. I couldn't warn him." She spoke as the radio continued to crackle.

"Try to raise him again," an older man said, the blonde girl goes to speak, "Come on, son. You know best how to work this thing," Dale called out to Shane, he set the axe he held into a log, and picked up the radio to speak.

"Hello? Hello, is the person who calls still on the air? This is officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting a person unknown, please respond..." he spoke as he got down onto one knee, after a minute of nothing but static Shane spoke up, "He's gone,"

"There are others," Lori commented, her voice full of hope, "It's not just us,"

"Yeah. We knew there would be, right, that's why we let the CB on," he said with a 'duh' tone in his voice.

"Lot of good it's been doing," she retorted, her gaze briefly lays on the CB and then back to Shane, "And I've been saying for a week, we ought to put signs up on 85 to warn people away from the city,"

"Folks got no idea what they're getting into," the blonde spoke sadly.

"We don't have enough time," Shane responded as he got to his feet and his attention solely on Lori.

"I think we need to make time," Lori asserted, determined to stop people walking into the trap. Atlanta was done, it belonged to the dead now.

"Yeah, that... uh. That's a luxury we can't afford," Shane spoke, running a hand down his face, "We are surviving here. We are day to day," he reasoned.

"And who the hell would you propose to send?" the older man questioned

"I'll go. Give me a vehicle," Lori demanded, not wanting to let innocent people walk into certain death.

"Nobody goes anywhere alone, you know that," Shane told her, reciting the rules again. Lori just glared at him and walked away with a sarcastic 'yes sir' as she passed him.

Carl began to follow behind her but Shane stopped him, "Hey, hey, hey, come on, take a seat, bud. You're alright. Go on. You're alright," Shane told him before walking off in the direction Lori went.

Lori is heading towards her tent with Shane closely behind, "What, are you pissed at me?" he questioned.

Lori didn't answer, she just entered the tent, "You can be pissed at me all you want. It's not going to change anything. I'm not putting you in danger, okay?" he started as he enters after her, "I'm not doing it for anything. That makes you feel like sometimes you want to slap me upside the head... Tell you what, girl... you feel that need, you go right ahead. I'm right here. Go on."

Lori turns to look at him, infuriated. "You cannot walk off like that, all half-cocked. Look, if you do not want to do it for my sake and your sake, that's fine. You do it for him. That boy's been through too much and he's not losing his mother too, okay?" he asked, Lori nodded in response, "Okay?"

"Okay," Lori finally spoke, agreeing with him.

"You tell me 'okay'." he spoke softly and she nods. He began to chuckle, "It's not hard." He looks out through the tent windows and sees no one about. "All right, hey." He steps closer towards her and they begin to kiss. They continue kissing, the kiss becoming more passionate by the second.

"Mom?" a small voice called, they break apart and Shane walks out of the tent.

"What's up, bud? She's in there. Go on." Shane told him as he walked past him, leaving Carl and Lori alone. Lori crouched down next to him and smiled.

"Hey. I don't want you to worry. Your mom is not going anywhere. Okay?" she assured him, he nodded and she nodded with him, "Yeah, yeah. Go finish your chores."

"Okay," he replied with a nod, he smiled at her, happy she wasn't going anywhere. He ran back towards camp to finish his chores.

*************

The siblings drive up to an intersection on a country road. Destroyed and abandoned cars dispersed over the road, Rick slowed the car to a stop, "We're low on gas," he told his sister.

She nodded, "I think there's a gas station, just up the road there." She indicated with her head.

Rick opened the trunk of the patrol car, they got out of the car and closed the door, "You can stay, I'll go get it," he said looking at his sister.

She reached through the window to get her bat and balanced it on her shoulder, "You are still recovering, I'm not letting you go off on your own." She told him

Rick walked to the trunk of the car and fetched out a gas can. Rick nodded to Cindy, letting her know that he was ready to go, "Let's go then." She responded, "Keep your eyes open," Rick nodded,

Rick held the can in his hand. They began to walk towards the gas station, we walked across the small field beside the station. Cars were torn apart like they had been searched by someone. Tents hung out of windows, toys and other possessions were scattered around the grass. Dead bodies covered in flies, their flesh rotting. Some still in their cars, "This is a graveyard." Cindy spoke.

When they finally arrived at the gas pumps, there was a sign rattling against the wall it hung on that read 'NO GAS'. Rick turned to look at his sister, a look of defeat appearing on his features, "We'll think of something," his sister comforted him. He went to say something when they both froze at the sound of feet shuffling on the concrete.

They dropped to the ground. They looked around to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. Rick then saw small feet scuffle past on the opposite side of the car. She wore bunny slippers and a light pink robe. She picked up the teddy bear that lay on the floor which caused Rick to spring up to get her, Cindy just looked at him wide-eyed, ' _What the hell is he doing? Is he crazy'_ she thought.

The little girl looked like she hadn't had a wash in a while and not taken care of. That was what made Cindy wary. No way anyone would leave a kid on their own. Right? The girl looked fragile. Cindy tore her eyes away from the girl briefly to scan the area to make sure they don't have any company. She looked back to the girl, all skin and bone. Rick walked slowly towards the girl which put Cindy on high alert.

"Little girl...I'm a policeman...little girl?" he called out softly as not to scare her. The girl stopped at the sound of his voice, she stood there completely frozen.

Cindy's heart rate doubled, dread filling her body. "Rick, I don't think..." Cindy started to warn him but he started talking to the girl again.

"Don't be afraid," he told her softly as he continued to walk closer, holding his hand out to her, "Okay?" he asked, prompting a response from her.

The girl slowly turned around revealing her face. Rick's face falls as he sees the girl, disappointment, and sorrow in his eyes. Her eyes are dull, lifeless. Her mouth is torn and dried blood has marked her pajamas. Her eyes squarely on Rick as she hobbled towards him, causing Cindy to become more alert, her grip on her bat tightening. Rick raised his gun to shoot her backing up the closer she got. Cindy could sense his hesitation, "Rick, don't be stupid," she snapped.

Rick squeezed the trigger and the girl's body fell backwards, crashing on the ground below. Dead for a second time. Cindy looked hastily around, the sound surely attracting any walkers nearby, "Let's get out of here." She said to Rick as she turned to walk away, she stopped and turned when she realized Rick hadn't moved from his spot. She walked up to him, she stopped beside him. He just stared at her.

"She can't be any more than 8 years old," he finally spoke. Cindy gave him a sympathetic smile. She then had an idea, something to make him feel a bit better. She walked around looking in cars for a blanket. She found a pink one which she thought was perfect, she walked back over to Rick and the girl. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously, Cindy looked up at him and smiled. She placed the blanket over the girl, she then placed the teddy bear closer to the girl's face. Her gaze then shifted towards a row of flowers, she gets up and walks over to the flowers and uses her knife to cut them from the ground and walks back over to the girl. She places the flowers down on the young girl.

"There, she can rest properly now. Rick, it's horrible I know but we have to go," she started to reason to with him, looking around, "There could be more on the way. For Carl and for Lori, we have to go." She finished, Rick looked up to his sister and nodded.

"Let's get out of here," he spoke, Cindy nodded, picking up her bat. They ran back towards the car. They made it back to the car within a couple of minutes and immediately. They knew that they'd have to find gas soon because what they had wasn't enough to get them to Atlanta.

They drove for a whole before they pulled up to a house, "We can't get much further than this," Rick stated.

Cindy sighed, "Let's hope we can find some here." She said grabbing her bat from the floor below her. Before exiting Rick pulled down his visor, to reveal two pictures, one of him, Lori and Carl and another of just him and his sister just before she went on her first deployment.

Cindy looked up at the photo, "You keep that in here?" she asked him, Rick looked towards her, a smile on his face, a mixture of happiness and love. Heart swelling of pride.

"Yeah, of course." He told her, he takes the pictures from their spot on the visor and put them in his pocket.

They got out of the car and Rick grabbed the gas can again before walking towards the stairs of the porch, "Hello? Police officer out here. Can I borrow some gas? Hello?" he called out, hoping someone was here.

"Hello? Anybody home?" he called out again, knocking on the door, Cindy walked over to a window that she noticed was open.

She looked through the window, a vulgar smell immediately plagued her nose. She saw a man who appeared to had shot himself and a woman lay on the floor beside him, also dead. She had a gunshot wound, a message in her blood written on the wall 'GOD FORGIVE US'. Flies dancing around their corpses, "Yeah, Rick. I don't think anybody's going to answer," Cindy told her brother. He looks at her with worry in his eyes, ' _Don't tell me there's some in there.'_ He thought walking up to her. he stops and peeks through the window, gagging from the smell.

"This place looks untouched," Rick spoke, Cindy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "I mean, it doesn't look like any walkers have been here." He clarified.

"Yeah but for how long?" she asked, not really expecting an answer, "Nothing is safe anymore, Rick. World's changed." She started, placing her bat on her shoulder, "You've got to fight for your admission here. They're not just gonna give you a free ticket." She walked past time and head over to a truck that was parked beside the house. No luck, she shook her head, "Nothing."

She walked back up to the house to search for the keys but stopped in her tracks when she heard her brother talking, "Easy now, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you," he said. ' _Who is he talking to?'_ she looked around but she couldn't see him. "Nothing like that... more like a proposal. Atlanta's just down the road aways. It's safe there. Food, shelter, people, other horses too, I bet. How's that sound?" he asked, she rounded a small shed and saw Rick slowly approaching the horse.

Cindy snorted at the sight of her brother negotiating with the horse, "Are you really trying to persuade the horse to come with us?" she asked, he turns to look at her and shrugged, "You've gone mad." She spoke.

He mounted the horse, "We have to get to Atlanta somehow, Cindy." He stated.

Cindy giggled and shook her head, "You can't be serious." Rick didn't answer just held out his hand to help his sister onto the horse. She took his hand and climbed onto the horse.

"There we go. Good boy. Good boy." He told the horse, gently tugging the rope, directing him to turn, "I haven't done this in years." He said trying to keep his balance.

"Yeah, last time you did, Pepper... chucked you... right into the ... the muckheap." Cindy said breathlessly between laughs.

Rick laughed at the memory, "My ass hurt for 3 days," he added. They rode away from the farm and resumed their journey towards Atlanta.

************

Atlanta seemed deserted, a ghost town. A few walkers wandering around, nothing to worry about. As if reading her mind Rick spoke, "Steady, it's just a few. Nothing we can't outrun." He told the horse.

Rick guided the horse down another street, a few walkers lingered in a bus. Suddenly Cindy heard a whirring noise, "You hear that?" she asked her brother.

Rick nodded, gently pulling on the reins to signaling for the horse to stop. He looked up in the sky trying to locate where the sound was coming from.

Cindy spotted a reflection of the helicopter in a window of a high-rise building, "There," she pointed as it came into view. The resounding sound of hooves echoed through the streets as they cantered along, buildings gone in a second as they flew by.

Rick stopped sharply as he stared at the scene in front of him. Cindy looked over his shoulder to see a huge horde of walkers.

Cindy's grip on her brother tightened as the walkers turned and spotted the siblings. They began stumbling towards them, pushing and shoving to get the first bite, the juiciest flesh. Rick turned the horse around only to find they were trapped, "Shit," he cursed. He turned to look for an opening to escape. But it was no use. The walkers tried grabbing at anything they could. The horse squealed, rearing trying to fend off the threat. Rick lost his balance and falls off, taking his sister with him.

They rushed to get up and backed away from the walkers. Most of them occupied chewing on the horse. Some set their sights on the siblings. Scurrying towards them, one grabbed onto Rick's leg, Rick kicked him off and got up on his feet.

He pulled out his python and put it towards his head, "I'm sorry, Cindy." He cried.

She shook her head, holding her bat up in defense, "We're not done yet. They are busy. Under the tank. Now!" she directed, he looked at her confused. ' _Surely that won't work, they'll follow.'_ He thought.

He scrunched his eyebrows and looked at, "What? Why?" he asked.

She whacked a walker in the face, his head squelching as she smashed the bat down, "Tanks have an escape hatch at the bottom. Get into it." She explained, he did as he was told. Cindy following close behind.

They both got into the tank unharmed, closing the door behind them. Rick backed away from the door, towards the side of the tank. Beside him there was a corpse, he began to move and Rick raised his gun to shoot him, "No, don't!" she screamed but it was too late, the shot had already been fired.

High pitched screeching sound tore through their ears as the bullet ricocheted off the walls. Rick climbed up to open the hatch on the top of the tank, easing the sound from their ears. Rick shut the hatch again, they were safe inside but they were surrounded. They had to think about what they were going to do otherwise they'd die of starvation or thirst. They were trapped.

Rick pulled his knees to his chest, his mind swirling with thoughts, scenarios. Thinking all hope is lost. Then the radio started buzzing, causing both siblings to look up at it. They looked at each other both confused then a voice of a man sounded through, "Hey, you. Dumbasses. Yeah... you two in the tank. Cozy in there?" they were both in shock and just sat there and stared at the device.

A/N: Next episode coming soon. This is my first fanfic hope you like it.


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